U.S. patent number 10,850,520 [Application Number 16/360,661] was granted by the patent office on 2020-12-01 for recording device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Seiko Epson Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Morio Iwata, Satoshi Nakata, Keisuke Sasaki, Kazunori Takabayashi, Katsumi Yamada.
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United States Patent |
10,850,520 |
Yamada , et al. |
December 1, 2020 |
Recording device
Abstract
A recording device includes a recording unit configured to eject
a liquid onto a medium to record, a carriage including the
recording unit and configured to move in an X direction
corresponding to a medium width direction that intersects a Y
direction corresponding to a medium transport direction, a liquid
reservoir located in the carriage at a position above the recording
unit, configured to contain a liquid, and having a fill port
through which the liquid is supplied, a fill port unit located in
the carriage at a position above the liquid reservoir and including
a component for open/close operation of the fill port, and an
operation unit through which the device is operated. The fill port
unit and the operation unit partly overlap in a device front-rear
direction that is parallel to the medium transport direction, when
viewed in the X direction.
Inventors: |
Yamada; Katsumi (Matsumoto,
JP), Takabayashi; Kazunori (Okaya, JP),
Iwata; Morio (Matsumoto, JP), Sasaki; Keisuke
(Matsumoto, JP), Nakata; Satoshi (Matsumoto,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION |
Tokyo |
N/A |
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Seiko Epson Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005213323 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/360,661 |
Filed: |
March 21, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20190291445 A1 |
Sep 26, 2019 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
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Mar 23, 2018 [JP] |
|
|
2018-056526 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41J
25/006 (20130101); B41J 2/17506 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41J
2/175 (20060101); B41J 25/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2006-224433 |
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Aug 2006 |
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JP |
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2016-000493 |
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Jan 2016 |
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JP |
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2016-000504 |
|
Jan 2016 |
|
JP |
|
2016-000505 |
|
Jan 2016 |
|
JP |
|
2016-068473 |
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May 2016 |
|
JP |
|
2017-154480 |
|
Sep 2017 |
|
JP |
|
2018-103526 |
|
Jul 2018 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Polk; Sharon A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Workman Nydegger
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A recording device comprising: a recording unit configured to
eject a liquid onto a medium to record; a carriage including the
recording unit at a bottom thereof and configured to move along a
movement path in an X direction corresponding to a medium width
direction that intersects a Y direction corresponding to a medium
transport direction in which a medium is transported while the
recording unit is recording; a liquid reservoir located in the
carriage at a position above the recording unit, configured to
contain a liquid, and having a fill port through which the liquid
is supplied; a fill port unit located in the carriage at a position
above the liquid reservoir and including a component for open/close
operation of the fill port; and an operation unit through which the
device is operated, wherein the operation unit extends over the
movement path such that the fill port unit and the operation unit
partly overlap in a vertical direction when viewed in the X
direction when the carriage passes under the operation unit.
2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the fill port
unit includes a pivotable lever-like member having a cap configured
to close the fill port and a frame member supporting the lever-like
member, and the lever-like member is configured to pivot to switch
its posture between a closing posture in which the cap closes the
fill port and an open posture in which the cap does not close the
fill port.
3. The recording device according to claim 2, wherein an overhang
configured to cover at least a portion of the lever-like member
from above is disposed at an end portion of a movement area of the
carriage adjacent to a home position, and the overhang includes a
guide portion that guides the lever-like member to a position under
the overhang.
4. The recording device according to claim 2, wherein the frame
member has an upper surface having a plurality of grooves that hold
a liquid.
5. The recording device according to claim 2, wherein an overhang
configured to cover at least a portion of the lever-like member
from above is disposed at an end portion of a movement area of the
carriage adjacent to a home position, a control unit that controls
the carriage is configured to execute a carriage stop mode in which
the carriage stops at a first position where the lever-like member
is located away from the overhang, the lever-like member in a
posture other than the closing posture comes in contact with the
overhang when the carriage moves from the first position toward a
movement limit position adjacent to the home position, and the
control unit is configured to move the carriage from the first
position toward the movement limit position when returns from the
carriage stop mode and is configured to determine whether the
lever-like member is open or closed based on a position where the
carriage stopped.
6. The recording device according to claim 1, further comprising,
at a downstream side of the recording unit in a medium transport
route, a discharge driving roller configured to be rotated and a
discharge driven roller opposed to the discharge driving roller and
configured to be rotated by rotation of the discharge driving
roller, wherein the fill port unit and a roller support supporting
the discharge driven roller partly overlap in a device front-rear
direction that is parallel to the medium transport direction, when
viewed in the X direction.
7. The recording device according to claim 6, wherein the roller
support has an upper surface having a guide groove that guides the
liquid in a predetermined direction, and a liquid absorber
configured to absorb the liquid is disposed adjacent to an ink
guide end of the guide groove.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording device that records on
a medium.
2. Related Art
An example of a recording device that ejects a liquid onto a medium
to record is an ink jet printer. An example of the ink jet printer
including a recording head that ejects ink, which is one example of
a liquid, and a carriage that moves in a predetermined direction is
a serial ink jet printer. Some ink jet printers include ink
reservoirs, which contain ink, in the carriages, and others include
the ink reservoirs outside the carriages. Examples of the ink
reservoir mounted in the carriage include a cartridge ink
reservoir, which is entirely replaceable, and a refillable ink
reservoir, which is capable of being filled again, as described in
JP-A-2006-224433.
In the configuration described in JP-A-2006-224433, an ink
supplying needle is inserted into an ink fill port to supply ink to
the ink reservoir. The ink fill port is closed with a label and the
label is removed when ink is supplied through the ink fill port.
The adhesiveness of the label decreases with the duration of use,
and thus the label may lose the ability to properly seal the ink
fill port. To solve the problem, a mechanical component, such as an
openable cap, may be used to open and close the ink fill port.
However, the mechanical component increases the overall size of the
carriage, making the recording device larger. In particular, a
movement area of the carriage is usually adjacent to an operation
portion through which the recording device is instructed to perform
various tasks. If the position of the operation portion is changed
due to the increase in the size of the carriage, the size of the
recording device increases accordingly.
SUMMARY
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that, in a
recording device including a refillable liquid reservoir in a
carriage, reliable opening and closing of a fill port for liquid
refilling and a less increase in size of the recording device are
both achieved.
A recording device according to a first aspect of the invention
includes a recording unit configured to eject a liquid onto a
medium to record, a carriage including the recording unit at a
bottom thereof and configured to move in an X direction
corresponding to a medium width direction that intersects a Y
direction corresponding to a medium transport direction in which a
medium is transported while the recording unit is recording, a
liquid reservoir located in the carriage at a position above the
recording unit, configured to contain a liquid, and having a fill
port through which the liquid is supplied, a fill port unit located
in the carriage at a position above the liquid reservoir and
including a component for open/close operation of the fill port,
and an operation unit through which the device is operated. The
fill port unit and the operation unit partly overlap in a vertical
direction when viewed in the X direction.
According to the aspect, in the recording device including the
liquid reservoir that holds a liquid supplied through the fill port
in the carriage, the fill port unit including a component for
open/close operation of the fill port is disposed. With this
configuration, the fill port is reliably closed. Furthermore, the
fill port unit and the operation unit partly overlap in the
vertical direction when viewed in the X direction corresponding to
the medium width direction that interests the Y direction
corresponding to the medium transport direction in which a medium
is transported during the recording. This configuration reduces the
size of the device in the vertical direction, preventing the size
of the device from increasing in the vertical direction.
The recording device according to a second aspect of the invention
includes a recording unit configured to eject a liquid onto a
medium to record, a carriage including the recording unit at a
bottom thereof and configured to move in an X direction
corresponding to a medium width direction that intersects a Y
direction corresponding to a medium transport direction in which a
medium is transported while the recording unit is recording, a
liquid reservoir located in the carriage at a position above the
recording unit, configured to contain a liquid, and having a fill
port through which the liquid is supplied, a fill port unit located
in the carriage at a position above the liquid reservoir and
including a component for open/close operation of the fill port,
and an operation unit through which the device is operated. The
fill port unit and the operation unit partly overlap in a device
front-rear direction that is parallel to the medium transport
direction, when viewed in the X direction.
According to the aspect, the liquid reservoir in the carriage has
the fill port for liquid refilling, and the device includes the
fill port unit including a component for open/close operation of
the fill port. With this configuration, the fill port is reliably
closed. Furthermore, the fill port unit and the operation unit
partly overlap in the device front-rear direction, which is
parallel to the medium transport direction, when viewed in the X
direction that intersects the Y direction corresponding to the
medium transport direction in which a medium is transported during
the recording. This configuration reduces the size of the device in
the device front-rear direction, preventing the size of the device
from increasing.
In the above-described recording device, the fill port unit may
include a pivotable lever-like member having a cap configured to
close the fill port and a frame member supporting the lever-like
member. The lever-like member is configured to pivot to switch its
posture between a closing posture in which the cap closes the fill
port and an open posture in which the cap does not close the fill
port.
With this configuration, the cap reliably closes the fill port, and
the fill port is readily opened or closed because the fill port is
opened or closed by the lever-like member.
In the above-described recording device, an overhang configured to
cover at least a portion of the lever-like member from above may be
disposed at an end portion of a movement area of the carriage
adjacent to a home position. The overhang may include a guide
portion that guides the lever-like member to a position under the
overhang.
In this configuration, the overhang configured to cover at least a
portion of the lever-like member from above is disposed at an end
portion of the movement area of the carriage adjacent to the home
position. Thus, when at least a portion of the lever-like member is
located under the overhang, the lever-like member is not
unnecessarily operated, i.e., the fill port is not exposed.
If the lever-like member does not completely close the fill port
and is in a half-opening posture, for example, the lever-like
member comes in contact with the overhang when the carriage moves
toward the home position. This may damage the lever-like member or
the overhang. To avoid the damage, in this configuration, the
overhang has a guide portion that guides the lever-like member to a
position under the overhang, and thus the above-describe damage is
avoided or reduced.
In the above-described recording device, the frame member may have
an upper surface having a plurality of grooves that hold a
liquid.
In this configuration, the upper surface of the frame member has
grooves that hold a liquid. If the liquid is dropped onto the upper
surface of the frame member during the liquid supply through the
fill port, the liquid is held in the grooves. This configuration
reduces the possibility that the liquid dropped onto the upper
surface of the frame member will scatter.
The above-described recording device may further include, at a
downstream side of the recording unit in a medium transport route,
a discharge driving roller configured to be rotated and a discharge
driven roller opposed to the discharge driving roller and
configured to be rotated by rotation of the discharge driving
roller. The fill port unit and a roller support supporting the
discharge driven roller partly overlap in a device front-rear
direction that is parallel to the medium transport direction, when
viewed in the medium width direction.
In this configuration, the fill port unit and the roller support
supporting the discharge driven roller partly overlap in the device
front-rear direction that is parallel to the medium transport
direction, when viewed in the medium width direction. Thus, the
size of the recording device that includes the fill port unit and
the roller support supporting the discharge driven roller is
reduced in the device front-rear direction.
In the above-described recording device, the roller support may
have an upper surface having a guide groove that guides the liquid
in a predetermined direction, and a liquid absorber configured to
absorb the liquid may be disposed adjacent to an ink guide end of
the guide groove.
In this configuration, the upper surface of the roller support has
a guide groove that guides the liquid in a predetermined direction
and the liquid absorber configured to absorb the liquid is disposed
at a liquid guide end of the guide groove. If the liquid is dropped
onto the upper surface of the roller support during the liquid
supply through the fill port, the liquid is guided by the guide
groove to the liquid absorber and absorbed by the liquid absorber.
This configuration reduces dirt and damage in the device possibly
caused by the liquid.
In the above-described recording device, an overhang configured to
cover at least a portion of the lever-like member from above may be
disposed at an end portion of a movement area of the carriage
adjacent to a home position. The control unit that controls the
carriage is configured to execute a carriage stop mode in which the
carriage stops at a first position where the lever-like member is
located away from the overhang. The lever-like member in a posture
other than the closing posture comes in contact with the overhang
when the carriage moves from the first position toward a movement
limit position adjacent to the home position. The control unit is
configured to move the carriage from the first position toward the
movement limit position when returns from the carriage stop mode
and is configured to determine whether the lever-like member is
open or closed based on a position where the carriage stopped.
If the lever-like member is kept opened after the liquid supply to
the liquid reservoir, defects such as liquid evaporation and liquid
leakage through the fill port may occur. In the above-described
configuration, the control unit moves the carriage toward the
movement limit position when returns from the carriage stop mode
and determines whether the lever-like member is open or closed
based on the position where the carriage stopped. The determination
on whether the lever-like member is open or closed can eliminate
the above defects. In addition, this configuration does not require
a separate sensor or the like to determine whether the lever-like
member is open or closed, preventing the cost of the device from
increasing.
A recording device according to a third aspect of the invention
includes a recording unit configured to eject a liquid onto a
medium to record, a carriage including the recording unit at a
bottom thereof and configured to move in an X direction
corresponding to a medium width direction that intersects a Y
direction corresponding to a medium transport direction in which a
medium is transported while the recording unit is recording, and an
operation unit through which the recording device is operated. The
carriage and the operation unit partly overlap in a vertical
direction or a device front-rear direction that is parallel to the
medium transport direction, when viewed in the X direction.
With this configuration, the size of the device including the
carriage and the operation unit is reduced in the vertical
direction or the device front-rear direction, preventing the size
of the device from increasing.
The above-described recording device may further include a liquid
reservoir located in the carriage at a position above the recording
unit, configured to contain a liquid, and having a fill port
through which the liquid is supplied. The fill port and the
operation unit overlap in the vertical direction or the device
front-rear direction that is parallel to the medium transport
direction, when viewed in the X direction.
In this configuration, the fill port and the operation unit partly
overlap in the vertical direction or the device front-rear
direction that is parallel to the medium transport direction, when
viewed in the X direction. Thus, the size of the device is reduced
in the vertical direction or the device front-rear direction,
preventing the size of the device from increasing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an exterior of an ink jet
printer according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an exterior of the ink
jet printer according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carriage in a home position
area.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carriage in the home position
area.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG.
1.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.
1.
FIG. 7 is a magnified view illustrating a portion in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an operation unit.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an operation unit alone
viewed obliquely from above.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the operation unit alone
viewed obliquely from below.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the carriage alone
viewed obliquely from above.
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the carriage in FIG.
11.
FIG. 13 is a plan view illustrating the carriage in the home
position area.
FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating the carriage and the operation
unit. The carriage is positioned at an end away from the home
position.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the
device. The carriage is positioned in the home position area.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the
device. The carriage is positioned in the home position area.
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the
device. The carriage is positioned in the home position area.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the
device. The carriage is positioned in the home position area.
FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating an overhang. The
carriage is positioned in the home position area.
FIG. 20 is a perspective overall view of the device without a
housing.
FIG. 21 is a block diagram indicating a carriage control
system.
FIG. 22 is a flow chart indicating carriage control for ink
supply.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a recording device according to an
aspect of the invention is described with reference to the
drawings. In the following description, an ink jet printer
(hereinafter, may be referred to as a "printer") 1 that performs
ink jet recording on a sheet, which is one example of a medium, is
described as an example of the recording device according to an
aspect of the invention. The X, Y, and Z coordinate systems are
indicated in the drawings such that the X direction indicates a
device width direction and a sheet width direction, the Y direction
indicates a sheet transport direction and a device front-rear
direction, and the Z direction indicates a device height direction
and a vertical direction. A side to which a sheet is transported is
referred to as a "downstream" side and a side opposite the
downstream side is referred to as an "upstream" side.
Hereinafter, the overall configuration of the printer 1 is briefly
described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In FIG. 1, the printer 1
includes a device body 2 mainly including a housing 3, a front
panel 4, a front cover 5, an upper cover 6, and an upper rear cover
7, which provide an outer frame of the device body 2.
The front cover 5, which provides a front surface of the device, is
openable and may be open (FIGS. 1 and 2) and closed (FIG. 20). The
open front cover 5 allows a sheet to be supplied into a sheet
storage (FIGS. 5 and 6) 40 and allows a recorded sheet to be
discharged.
The upper cover 6, which provides a portion of an upper surface of
the device, is openable and may be open (FIG. 1) and closed (FIG.
2). The open upper cover 6 allows a carriage movement area 8 to be
exposed as illustrated in FIG. 2, enabling operations such as paper
jam cleaning and an ink supply operation described below. The upper
rear cover 7, which provides an upper surface of the device, is
flush with the upper cover 6. In this embodiment, when the device
is viewed from the front side, a right end section of the movement
area of the carriage 20 is a home position area and a left end
section thereof is an opposite area away from the home position
area.
An operation unit 10 for giving various instructions to the printer
1 is disposed at a front left portion of the upper surface of the
device. Through the operation unit 10, the device is switched on
and off and various settings are made. The operation unit 10 is
described later further in detail. Areas indicated by Q1 to Q5 in
FIG. 1 are also described later.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a sheet transport
route in the printer 1 is described. The device includes the sheet
storage 40 at the bottom. A sheet is taken from the sheet storage
40 by a feeding roller 42 and is sent to a reversing roller 41. The
feeding roller 42 is configured to move toward or away from the
sheet in the sheet storage 40. The sheet sent from the sheet
storage 40 is reversed by the reversing roller 41 and sent to the
front side of the device. The reversing roller 41 and the feeding
roller 42 are driven by a motor (not illustrated). The symbol T1
indicates a passage of the sheet sent from the sheet storage 40.
The symbol T3 indicates a passage of a sheet sent back after
recording on a first surface (front surface). In the printer 1, the
sheet after recording on the first surface (front surface) is
reversed by the reversing roller 41 such that recording is
performed on a second surface (rear surface) of the sheet.
The sheet feeder in this embodiment sends sheets from the sheet
storage 40 located at the bottom of the device. In addition to this
sheet feeder, the device may further include a feeder that feeds
sheets from the rear side of the device. Alternatively, the device
may include the feeder that feeds sheets from the rear side instead
of the feeder that sends sheets from the sheet storage 40 at the
bottom of the device. Specifically described, although the upper
rear cover 7, which provides the upper rear surface of the device,
is not openable in this embodiment, the upper rear cover 7 is made
openable to allow a sheet to be inserted from the upper side of the
device onto a sheet support 43. Furthermore, a feeding roller (not
illustrated) that sends the sheet set on the sheet support 43 may
be disposed. In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the symbol T2 indicates a
passage of the sheet sent from the sheet support 43. This is an
example of the mechanism that feeds a sheet from the rear side of
the device.
The sheet fed by the above-described feeder is nipped between a
transport driving roller 44 and a transport driven roller 45 and
sent to a position below a recording head 47, which is one example
of a recording unit. The transport driving roller 44 is configured
to be driven by a motor (not illustrated) and the transport driven
roller 45 is configured to be rotated by rotation of the transport
driving roller 44. A direction in which a sheet is transported by
the transport driving roller 44 and the transport driven roller 45
is a sheet transport direction for recording, which corresponds to
the Y direction, which is a horizontal direction.
The recording head 47 is an ink jet recording head located at the
bottom of the carriage 20. The carriage 20 is configured to
reciprocate in a sheet width direction (X direction) that
intersects the sheet transport direction for recording (Y
direction) and discharge ink from the recording head 47 while
reciprocating. A support 48 is disposed to face the recording head
47. The support 48 supports the sheet transported by the transport
driving roller 44 and the transport driven roller 45 to the
downstream side.
The sheet after recording by the recording head 47 is nipped
between a discharge driving roller 50 and a discharge driven roller
51, which are located downstream of the recording head 47 in the
sheet transport route, and the sheet is discharged to the front
side of the device. The discharge driving roller 50 is configured
to be driven by a motor (not illustrated) and the discharge driven
roller 51 is rotated by rotation of the discharge driving roller
50. The sheet discharged to the front side of the device is
received by a paper output tray 49. The paper output tray 49 is
slidable between a housing position illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6
and a protruded position (not illustrated) located frontward of the
device from the housing position.
Next, the configurations of the carriage 20 and the operation unit
10 are described with reference to FIG. 7 and subsequent figures.
As illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 12, the carriage 20 includes
an ink tank 30, which is one example of a liquid reservoir that
contains ink. The ink is one example of a liquid. The ink is
supplied from the ink tank 30 to the recording head 47. In FIGS. 6
and 7, the symbol 30a indicates an ink housing space of the ink
tank 30.
The ink tank 30 has a fill port 31 (FIGS. 4, 6, and 7) through
which ink in an ink bottle (not illustrated) is supplied into
(refill) the ink tank 30 by the user. In this embodiment, the ink
tank 30 contains one color ink (for example, a black ink) and has
one fill port 31. However, the ink tank 30 may contain multiple
color inks (for example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks) and
have fill ports 31 for the respective color inks, i.e., multiple
fill ports 31. Alternatively, in addition to the ink tank 30, one
or more detachable cartridges may be disposed. In such a
configuration, one or more of the multiple color inks may be
supplied (refillable) to the ink tank 30 and the other of the
multiple color inks may be supplied by replacing the cartridge(s).
In any case, the ink tank 30 has at least one fill port 31.
As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the carriage 20 includes a
housing 21. The ink tank 30 is disposed in the housing 21. The
carriage 20 includes a fill port unit 23 at the top of the housing
21. The fill port unit 23 includes an upper frame 24, which is one
example of a frame member, and a cap lever 26, which is one example
of a lever-like member. As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the fill
port unit 23 is detachable from the housing 21.
The fill port unit 23 includes components for open/close operation
of the fill port 31. Specifically described, as illustrated in
FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, the cap lever 26 includes a cap 27 that closes
the fill port 31 and the cap lever is attached to the upper frame
24 in a pivotable manner about a rotation shaft 24a (FIG. 7). In
other words, the upper frame 24 pivotably supports the cap lever
26. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cap lever 26 pivots to
switch its posture between a closing posture in which the cap 27
closes the fill port 31 (FIGS. 3 and 7) and an open posture in
which the cap 27 does not close the fill port 31 (FIG. 4).
With this configuration, the cap 27 reliably closes the fill port
31 and the fill port 31 is readily opened or closed by open/close
operation of the fill port 31 through the cap lever 26. The
above-described fill port unit 23 includes components for
open/close operation of the fill port 31 but may include a single
component.
FIG. 4 illustrates the cap lever 26 in a maximum open posture. The
cap lever 26 in the maximum open posture is open at an angle of
more than 90.degree. to keep the cap lever 26 open.
In this embodiment, the cap 27 is formed of an elastic material
such as elastomer and has an inner diameter slightly smaller than
the outer diameter of the fill port 31. The cap 27 is configured to
elastically deform to close the fill port 31. The cap lever 26
remains closed due to a force generated when the cap 27 elastically
fits the fill port 31. However, the cap lever 26 may remain closed
by using snap-fit connectors. The cap lever 26 may have a
protrusion and the upper frame 24 may have a recess to fit the
protrusion of the cap lever 26. Furthermore, a locking mechanism
that tightly closes the cap lever 26 may be further included.
As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper surface of the upper
frame 24 has retaining grooves 24b that holds the ink. If the ink
is dropped onto the upper frame 24 during the ink supply through
the fill port 31, the ink is held in the retaining grooves 24b.
This reduces the possibility that the ink will scatter when the
carriage 20 is in operation. In this embodiment, the retaining
grooves 24b extend in the X direction but may extend in the Y
direction.
Next, the operation unit 10 located adjacent to the movement area
of the carriage 20 is described. As illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9, and
10, the operation unit 10 includes three push buttons 14, 15, and
16 in this embodiment. The push buttons 14, 15, and 16 allow the
user to switch on and off the printer 1 and to perform various
setting operations. The operation unit 10 includes a panel frame
11, a substrate 12 having various circuit components thereon, and
four light guide lens (LED displays) 13 that indicate the status of
the device. The substrate 12 and the light guide lens 13 are
attached to the panel frame 11. A panel sheet 17 is attached to the
upper surface of the panel frame 11 to display the tasks operable
through the push buttons 14, 15, and 16. The light guide lens 13
guide the light from LEDs (not illustrated), which are light
emitter on the substrate 12, toward the outside of the device. The
operation unit 10 having such a configuration is attached to the
front panel 4.
As illustrated in FIG. 10, the panel frame 11 has an overhang 11a
protruding toward the rear side of the device. When the carriage 20
is moved to the left section of the movement area (area away from
the home position area), the front end of the cap lever 26 is
located under the overhang 11a, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 14.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, the positional relationship
between the operation unit 10 and the fill port unit 23 is
described.
In FIG. 7, an area surrounded by a broken line with the symbol U1
is an area occupied by the fill port unit 23 when viewed in the
sheet width direction (X direction) and an area surrounded by a
broken line with the symbol U2 is an area occupied by the operation
unit 10 when viewed in the sheet width direction (X direction). As
can be seen from FIG. 7, the fill port unit 23 and the operation
unit 10 partly overlap in the vertical direction (Z direction) when
viewed in the sheet width direction (X direction). Furthermore,
when viewed from the front side of the body (Y direction), the fill
port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 partly overlap in the
vertical direction (Z direction). The symbol R3 indicates a region
where the fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 overlap in
the vertical direction (Z direction). In this configuration, the
fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 do not entirely overlap
in the vertical direction (Z direction), and thus the size of the
device in the vertical direction (Z direction) is reduced,
preventing the size of the device from increasing.
Furthermore, the fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 partly
overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction) when
viewed in the sheet width direction (X direction). The symbol R1
indicates a region where the fill port unit 23 and the operation
unit 10 overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction).
Furthermore, the fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 partly
overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction) when
viewed from the upper side (Z direction). In this configuration,
the fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 do not entirely
overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction), and thus
the size of the device in the device front-rear direction (Y
direction) is reduced, preventing the size of the device from
increasing.
Furthermore, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the fill port 31 and the
operation unit 10 partly overlap in the vertical direction when
viewed in the sheet width direction (X direction). With this
configuration, the size of the device in the vertical direction (Z
direction) is reduced, preventing the size of the device from
increasing. The fill port 31 and the operation unit 10 may partly
overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction) when
viewed in the sheet width direction (X direction). With this
configuration, the size in the device front-rear direction (Y
direction) is reduced, preventing the size of the device from
increasing.
Since the fill port unit 23 is included in the carriage 20, it can
be said that the carriage 20 and the operation unit 10 partly
overlap in the vertical direction (Z direction). It can also be
said that the carriage 20 and the operation unit 10 partly overlap
in the device front-rear direction (Y direction).
In one embodiment, the upper frame 24 may be eliminated from the
fill port unit 23 including components for open/close operation of
the fill port 31, for example, and the cap lever 26 may be directly
attached to the housing 21 of the carriage 20, for example. In this
configuration, as can be understood from FIG. 7, the cap lever 26
included in the fill port unit 23 partly overlaps the operation
unit 10 in the vertical direction (Z direction) and in the device
front-rear direction (Y direction). The symbol R2 in FIG. 7
indicates a region where the front end of the cap lever 26 and the
overhang 11a overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y
direction).
The operation unit 10 may be located at any position where the fill
port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 partly overlap in the device
front-rear direction (Y direction) when viewed in the sheet width
direction (X direction), other than the position in the present
embodiment. For example, the operation unit 10 may be located in
any one of areas Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, and Q5 indicated in FIG. 1. The
fill port unit 23 and the operation unit 10 located in any one of
the areas partly overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y
direction) when viewed in the sheet width direction (X
direction).
In this embodiment, the operation unit 10 includes the push buttons
14, 15, and 16 but may further include a display such as a liquid
crystal display or may include only a touch panel. Alternatively,
the operation unit 10 may include a touch panel and a push button.
Furthermore, the operation unit 10 may include only a user
interface portion (for example, an LED display) that gives the user
visual information or may include only a user interface portion
(for example, a speaker) that gives the user audio information.
Next, the other components of the printer 1 are described. First,
as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 13, and 15, an overhang 3b extending
from the housing 3 is disposed at the end portion of the movement
area of the carriage 20 adjacent to the home position to cover at
least a portion of the cap lever 26 from above. In this
configuration, when the at least a portion of the cap lever 26 is
located under the overhang 3b, the cap lever 26 is not
unnecessarily operated, i.e., the fill port 31 is not exposed.
Here, as illustrated in FIG. 13, in the home position area of the
carriage 20, a position (position of the carriage) where the entire
cap lever 26 is away from the position under the overhang 3b is a
position where the ink is supplied through the fill port 31. This
position is referred to as a first position of the carriage 20. The
symbol X2 indicates the position of the right end of the cap lever
26 when the carriage 20 is located at the first position. When the
right end of the cap lever 26 is located at the position indicated
by the symbol X1, or when a portion of the cap lever 26 is located
under the overhang 3b, the carriage 20 is located at a home
position. When the right end of the cap lever 26 is moved from the
home position to the right side and arrived at the position
indicated by the symbol X0, the carriage 20 is located at a
movement limit position adjacent to the home position.
When the carriage 20 is located at the home position, the recording
head 47 is engaged with a cap unit 9 (FIGS. 4 and 20) and capped
with the cap 9a (FIG. 20) included in the cap unit 9. A pump unit
60 is disposed behind the cap unit 9. Activation of the pump unit
60 with the recording head 47 being capped with the cap 9a allows
the inside of the cap 9a to have a negative pressure, allowing the
ink to be suctioned through ink discharge nozzle holes (not
illustrated) of the recording head 47. While the carriage 20 is
located at the home position, the cap unit 9 and the fill port unit
23 overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction) and
overlap in the device width direction (X direction) when viewed in
the vertical direction.
If the carriage 20 at the first position is moved toward the home
position with the cap lever 26 being open (in a posture other than
the closing posture), the cap lever 26 comes in contact with the
overhang 3b, damaging the cap lever 26 or the overhang 3b. FIG. 16
illustrates a half-open cap lever 26. The dimension h1 indicates an
uplifted amount of the cap lever 26. The term "half-open" herein
refers to a state in which the cap 27 is placed on the fill port 31
with the own weight thereon (including the weight of the cap lever
26). In this embodiment, to avoid the damage, the lower corner of
the overhang 3b has a rounded surface (symbol 3c) that serves as a
guide portion that guides the cap lever 26 to a position under the
overhang 3b when a corner 26a of the cap lever 26 comes in contact
with the lower corner. The rounded surface eliminates or reduces
the above-described problem. In this embodiment, the cap 27
substantially completely closes the fill port 31 when the cap lever
26 is guided to the position under the overhang 3b.
The lower corner of the overhang 3b may have a chamfered surface
(symbol 3d) as illustrated in FIG. 17. The chamfered surface 3d
serves as the guide portion. An inclination rib 3e may be disposed
under the overhang 3b as illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19. The
inclination rib 3e serves as the guide portion.
Next, the positional relationship between the fill port unit 23 and
the other components is described. First, as can be seen from FIG.
6, the fill port unit 23 and a roller support 52, which supports
the discharge driven roller 51, partly overlap in the device
front-rear direction (Y direction), reducing the size of the device
in the device front-rear direction (Y direction).
As illustrated in FIG. 20, the upper surface of the roller support
52 has multiple guide grooves 52a that guide ink in the X
direction. Although not illustrated, the guide grooves 52a slope
down toward the right side of the device, i.e., toward the home
position. This allows the ink dropped in the guide grooves 52a
during the ink supply through the fill port 31 to be guided toward
the right side of the device or the home position. An ink absorber
53 that absorbs ink is disposed adjacent to the ink guide end of
the guide groove 52a to reduce the possibility that the inside of
the device will get dirt or damaged by the ink. In this embodiment,
the guide grooves 52a slope down to the right side of the device
but may extend horizontally. Furthermore, the guide grooves 52a
extend in the X direction in this embodiment but may extend in the
Y direction. Furthermore, the guide grooves 52a are provided in the
upper surface of the roller support 52 in this embodiment but a
separate member including the guide grooves 52a may be disposed
above the roller support 52. When the carriage 20 is located at the
home position, the ink absorber 53 and the fill port unit 23 partly
overlap in the device front-rear direction (Y direction) and the
device width direction (X direction) when viewed in the vertical
direction.
The imaginary line with the symbol P1 indicates an X-Y plane area
occupied by a sheet that is supported by the open front cover 5 and
the sheet storage 40 (FIGS. 5 and 6), particularly an X-Y plane
area occupied by a largest possible size sheet. The occupied area
P1 overlaps the movement area of the carriage 20 when viewed in the
vertical direction, i.e., overlaps the fill port unit 23 in the X
direction and the Y direction. The occupied area P1 also overlaps
the roller support 52 in the X direction and the Y direction when
viewed in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the occupied area P1
overlaps a portion of the operation unit 10 in the X direction and
the Y direction when viewed in the vertical direction. This
configuration reduces the size of the device.
Next, with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, control of the carriage 20
for ink supply is described. FIG. 21 indicates a control system for
the carriage 20. A controller 55, which is one example of a control
unit, receives a detection signal from a linear encoder 56. The
linear encoder 56 is a sensor configured to detect the position of
the carriage 20 and a relative position of the carriage 20 is
determined, after the reference position is detected. The
controller 55 is configured to control a carriage driving motor 57,
which is a power source of the carriage 20, based on the detection
signals from the linear encoder 56. The controller 55 includes a
motor driver that controls the carriage driving motor 57.
The operation to detect the reference position of the carriage 20
is performed when the printer 1 is powered on, for example. More
specifically described, when the printer 1 is powered on, the
controller 55 moves the carriage 20 to the movement limit position
adjacent to the home position. When the carriage 20 arrives at the
movement limit position adjacent to the home position, the driving
current value of the carriage driving motor 57 increases. The
controller 55 detects the increase and sets the position of the
carriage 20 as a reference position. Then, the controller 55
determines the relative position of the carriage 20 relative to the
reference position based on the detection signal from the linear
encoder 56 to perceive the position of the carriage 20.
In FIG. 22, upon receiving an ink supply instruction from the user,
the controller 55 moves the carriages 20 to the position indicated
in FIG. 13, i.e., the first position (hereinafter may be referred
to as an "ink supply position") where the cap lever 26 is located
away from the overhang 3b (Step S101). This is a carriage stop
mode, which is one of control modes executed by the controller 55.
In this state, the user supplies ink through the fill port 31 (FIG.
4). Next, upon receiving a supply completion instruction from the
user (Yes at Step S102), the controller 55 moves the carriages 20
toward the movement limit position adjacent to the home position
(Step S103).
If the carriage 20 at the ink supply position is moved to the
movement limit position adjacent to the home position with the cap
lever 26 being open, the cap lever 26 comes in contact with the
overhang 3b as can be seen from FIG. 4. The controller 55 uses this
positional relationship to determine whether the motor current
value increased at the movement limit position (Steps S104 and
S105). If the carriage 20 is located at the movement limit position
when the motor current value increased (Yes at Step S105), the
controller 55 determines that the cap lever 26 is completely
closed, and then performs normal termination. If the carriage 20 is
not located at the movement limit position when the motor current
value increased (No at the step S105), the controller 55 determines
that the cap lever 26 is not closed and has come in contact with
the overhang 3b, and then performs abnormal termination. At this
time, the controller 55 may display an alert message on a printer
driver or may illuminate or blink the light guide lens 13 (FIG. 8),
which indicate device status, to notify an error.
As described above, when the controller 55 returns from the
carriage stop mode, the controller 55 moves the carriage 20 at the
ink supply position toward the movement limit position adjacent to
the home position and determines whether the cap lever 26 is open
or closed based on the position where the carriage 20 stopped. This
configuration provides the following advantages. Specifically
described, if the cap lever 26 is kept opened after the ink supply
to the ink tank 30, defects such as ink evaporation and ink leakage
through the fill port 31 may be caused. This problem is avoided by
the above-described control that determines whether the cap lever
26 is closed or open. In addition, this configuration does not
require a separate sensor or the like to determine whether the cap
lever 26 is open or closed, preventing the cost of the device from
increasing.
If the cap lever 26 is in a half-opening posture closest to the
closing posture, which is one example of incomplete closing
postures of the cap lever 26 (FIG. 16), i.e., if the cap 27 is
located on the fill port 31 with its own weight thereon (including
the weight of the cap lever 26), the cap lever 26 is guided by the
guide portion (rounded surface 3c in FIG. 16), which is the lower
corner of the overhang 3b, to the position under the overhang 3b,
allowing the cap 27 to substantially completely close the fill port
31. Thus, in this embodiment, the cap lever 26 in this posture is
not in the "posture other than the closing posture" that allows the
cap lever 26 to come in contact with the overhang 3b.
The technical scope of the invention is not limited to the
above-described embodiment. Any modifications may be suitably added
to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention
understood from the claims and the description. Such modifications
are in the technical scope of the invention.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No.
2018-056526, filed Mar. 23, 2018 is expressly incorporated by
reference herein.
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